


Hypnotized

by ChokolatteJedi



Category: House M.D.
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Altered Mental States, Dark, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mental Anguish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-03
Updated: 2014-01-03
Packaged: 2018-01-07 09:48:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1118452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChokolatteJedi/pseuds/ChokolatteJedi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wilson can't handle what has happened to House</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hypnotized

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my H/C table, for the prompt "De-age"

James looked through the blinds and into the isolation room. House was asleep, which was a blessing at the moment. Lisa was a few feet away, talking to Nurse Brenda, but James couldn't bring his brain to comprehend the words. Like everything else, they simply washed over him as he stared at his sleeping lover.

How could House have done this?

It went against everything the man claimed to believe; he had openly mocked this sort of treatment for years. James' hands clenched, and the note in his fist crinkled. Part of him wanted to reread it, hoping that the words would have changed or suddenly made sense, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from House's still form.

A touch to his shoulder brought James back to reality and he jerked, turning finally to look at Lisa. "What?" he asked.

"Tell me what happened," she said calmly.

James wasn't sure how to find the words, but he let her calmness wash over him and he opened his mouth. Hopefully the words would just tumble out of him in some kind of order. "He took yesterday afternoon off." A good beginning, all things considered.

"Yes, he wouldn't tell me where," Lisa confirmed. "Did he tell you?"

James shook his head. "He told me not to come over last night." If she hadn't already known about them, the cat was now out of the bag, but that was the least of his worries right now. Lisa didn't bat an eye, however; she must have known.

"And you didn't?" she confirmed.

"I went to pick him up this morning," James said. "His leg has been hurting a lot this month; driving is hard."

Lisa nodded. "And then what happened?"

"He didn't answer the door. I went in." James wasn't sure he could finish without crying. "He didn't know me. Lisa, he was a child! A child who didn't know who I was or why his body hurt and he just wanted his parents!"

Lisa wrapped her arms around him, but the tears didn't fall. James wasn't sure why, but he was simply grateful. After a moment, she let go. "So you brought him here?" she asked quietly.

"He wouldn't come," James was haunted with what he had done that morning. "I had to sedate him."

"Where did he go yesterday?" Lisa asked, skipping over his guilt-laden confession.

James took what strength he could from her calmness. "Chase brought me his calendar. It just said 'H Appointment.'"

"Which could mean anything," Lisa sighed.

Almost of its own volition, James' hand was raising again. "I found this tucked in the glove compartment of his car," he explained.

Lisa took the crinkled paper and glanced over it. "A flyer for a Hypnotist?" She read. James could hear the fight not to laugh in her voice. If there was anything that didn't mesh with House, hypnotism would be at the top of the list.

"Someone probably put it on his car window," she reasoned. "Someone who didn't know him - or maybe someone who did," she smiled half-heartedly at the joke. He crumpled it up and threw it in the glove box."

"It's folded." James pointed out. He had already gone over this a dozen times in his head while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. The paper had been neatly folded and refolded many times. "There's a date on the back."

Lisa flipped it over and saw what he had discovered. Yesterday's date, and '1PM' circled. Frowning, she flipped the flyer back over and read it more carefully. James knew from her small gasp when she got to the right line. "Specializing in chronic pain management?" she repeated.

James wanted to nod, but his head felt encased in concrete, his ears and brain stuffed with cotton. He felt like he was the one who had been hypnotized. Why couldn't he move? Or think properly? Why wasn't House here to snark at him and snap him out of it?

"You think he made an appointment with this hypnotherapist?" Lisa asked.

James still couldn't nod, but he managed to say, "His leg has been in a lot of pain recently."

Lisa read the flyer again. "Painful enough that he might consider something like hypnotherapy?" she asked.

James managed to shrug, and then a noise from behind him captivated them both. James plastered himself against the window again, peeping through the blinds. In seconds, Lisa was beside him.

"Hello?" House was calling. "Mom? Hello?"

Lisa stiffened beside him, and James knew she was realizing exactly what he had. This was no prank. The voice, the face, the tone: everything was different. This simply wasn't _his House_. This was a scared child in the broken body of his future self.

James didn't think he closed his eyes, but suddenly everything became too much and comforting darkness finally overtook him.


End file.
